


The Wall

by JayTyHeyBye



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Relationships, Berlin Wall, Brother Feels, Brothers America & Canada (Hetalia), Brothers Germany & Prussia (Hetalia), Cold War, Crying, Fall of Prussia, Fall of the wall, Family Reunions, Mentioned Canada (Hetalia), The bosses, This hurt me to write, give the boys a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-02 05:57:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11503179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayTyHeyBye/pseuds/JayTyHeyBye
Summary: Ludwig remembered the day they finished building the wall very, very vividly. August 13th, 1961. He, along with a bunch of others that lived on the Western side of the wall, were standing in its shadow, looking up at it. Ludwig was using all his energy to not throw everything he had at this stupid wall in order to break it down. When they were told it was going to be built overnight, there was some outrage. Ludwig had been locked in his office with no way to leave. They know what he would have done, if he had gotten the chance. He would have raced to the East to find his older brother, and bring him to the other side.





	The Wall

**Author's Note:**

> I LEGITIMATELY DID SO MUCH RESEARCH ON THE BERLIN WALL SO I COULD WRITE THIS ACCURATELY OH BOY
> 
> THIS ENDED UP BEING SO LONG OH MY GOD I WENT HAM

Ludwig remembered the day they finished building the wall very, very vividly. August 13th, 1961. He, along with a bunch of others that lived on the Western side of the wall, were standing in its shadow, looking up at it. Ludwig was using all his energy to not throw everything he had at this stupid wall in order to break it down. When they were told it was going to be built overnight, there was some outrage. Ludwig had been locked in his office with no way to leave. They know what he would have done, if he had gotten the chance. He would have raced to the East to find his older brother, and bring him to the other side. 

After his fall in 1945, Gilbert was weak. The only thing that kept the older man from fading away entirely was the fact that those with Prussian blood in them still lived on. It had been less than 20 years since his fall, and while he was still sick and frail, he was stronger than he had been once. Ludwig had done all he possibly could to keep his brother healthy, and to help build his strength back up, but they both knew it wasn’t a transformation that could happen overnight, unlike this stupid fucking wall.

Ludwig took a slow step towards the giant cement structure in front of him, and let his palm rest flat against the rough concrete. It was cold, and it sent a chill down his spine. It also made him absolutely furious. Couldn’t Alfred and Ivan leave them out of their war? The German population had been through enough. Ludwig had been through enough. Fuck, Gilbert had been through more than Ludwig even wanted to know about.

His hand curled into a fist, and before he could even think to stop himself, he had reeled back and slammed his fist into the wall. The German immediately pulled back and cursed, cradling his now injured hand to his abdomen, attempting to ignore the tears stinging at the back of his eyes. 

What if he never saw him again?

Despite being brothers, Gilbert had lived in East Berlin, while Ludwig had lived in the centre of West Berlin. Ludwig had tried bringing Gilbert over to West Berlin countless times, but Gilbert was more stubborn than Ludwig was, and always refused. Now, Ludwig was coming to the realization he may never see his brother again. Not alive, anyways. How was Gilbert to survive if Ludwig couldn’t help? He was bound to get sicker. Weaker. 

Squeezing his eyes shut, Ludwig pressed his back up against the wall, eventually allowing himself to slide down it until he was sitting on the ground. He held his now most likely broken hand close to himself, and he hung his head. He had failed Gilbert. He was an absolute failure. Gilbert had spent most of his life looking after Ludwig, raising him properly, and Ludwig couldn’t even return the favour. 

“Luddy?” 

There was a loud shout from the other side, followed by faint coughing, and Ludwig’s head snapped up. He knew that voice. He could hear it over the top of the wall. Scrambling to his feet, Ludwig turned himself to face the wall, pressing both hands up against it.

“Gilbert? Is that you?”

“ _Danke Gott_ , yes! Are you alright?”

Ludwig could have burst into tears right then and there. Gilbert was okay. He was safe.

“I’m fine! Is there any way you can climb over?” He shouted, and he heard shaky laughter coming from the other side of the wall. Ludwig could practically hear Gilbert smiling.

“I doubt it, bruder. Don’t worry! The-the awesome Prussia will find a way over to rescue you, as always.” Gilbert shouted, but Ludwig’s body tensed when he heard him break into another fit of loud coughing. 

“Hang in there, Gilbert! I’ll find a way over!” Ludwig yelled, and immediately scanned up, down, and even around the wall to see if there was a way to climb up and over. He supposed the barbed wire at the top might be an issue, though. He heard Gilbert sigh, and Ludwig stopped looking.

“Listen to me, Luddy.”

Ludwig nodded, despite knowing there was no way Gilbert could see it. He pressed his forehead against the wall, his entire body having begun to tremble.

“Are you listening?” Gilbert suddenly snapped, most likely in order to get a laugh out of his brother. It worked, Ludwig letting out a shaky chuckle.

“Ja, I’m listening.”

“This wall will not stand forever, _kleiner bruder_. I am fine. You, are fine. We are both alive, and that is all that matters, ja?”

“Ja.”

“ _Ich liebe dich, Ludwig_.” Gilbert’s voice sounded sadder now, and Ludwig quickly swiped away the tear that rolled down his own cheek. They could do this. He just had to believe that they’d see each other again soon. 

“ _Ich liebe dich auch, Gilbert_.”

 

They spoke to each other through the wall every day for the first twenty years. They both had the luck of not aging, and every day when Ludwig would call out his brothers name and get a response, he could relax, even if it was just for the shortest of times. Knowing that Gilbert was alive was enough for him. Gilbert didn’t speak of his health very often, but Ludwig prided himself on his good hearing. Gilbert didn’t seem to be getting any better, but he certainly wasn’t getting any worse, which Ludwig was not complaining about. 

Ludwig, however, wasn’t stupid. He knew that life on the East Side of the wall wasn’t easy. They had no freedom of speech, strict laws, and very limited supplies. How Gilbert managed to maintain his sense of humour through it all was astounding to him. 

He knew Gilbert wouldn’t miss their meetings for the world. If he did, Ludwig knew that there was a large chance Gilbert wouldn’t have survived, despite all of those with Prussian blood in them. If they gave up, Gilbert didn’t stand a chance. 

The brothers would often sit back to back against the wall, telling each other of their day, both attempting to make the other one laugh first. Gilbert was usually the first one to win, always earning a laugh out of his younger brother. Sometimes Gilbert would let Ludwig win, giving an overdramatic, forced laugh at one of the stupid knock knock jokes Ludwig had come up with. 

They would stay there from the moment the sun began to set to the moment it would begin to rise, sometimes in silence. It was a comfortable silence, knowing the other was just roughly 3 feet worth of concrete away.

They were in a moment of silence currently, Ludwig leaning his head back against the wall, eyes shut, but Gilbert was the one who broke it.

“Luddy?”

“Yes, Gilbert?”

“What if the wall never falls down?”

For a moment, Ludwig wasn’t sure how to respond. Was Gilbert losing hope? Sure, it had been twenty years, but Ludwig knew if Gilbert gave up, that could be the beginning of the end for his brother.

“Of course it’ll fall down, try not to be an idiot for once in your life.”

That earned a quiet, genuine laugh out of Gilbert, followed by a rattling cough. 

“No promises,” Gilbert trailed off for a moment, and Ludwig could tell he was trying to think of what he should say next, “I miss you, Luddy. I hate it here. I-I don’t feel very awesome anymore.”

Ludwig frowned, shifting his body around so his cheek was pressed up against the wall, almost in an attempt to get closer to his brother.

“I miss you too, Gilbert. We’ll be together again, soon.”

Gilbert didn’t answer, and Ludwig let his eyes fall shut again. 

He didn’t hear Gilbert’s quiet, broken sob from the other side of the wall, his doubt overwhelming him.

 

The next time Ludwig visited the wall, arms crossed over his chest, the plan of telling his brother all about his most recent phone call with Feliciano, and he planned to tell him all about the Italian Referendums. Feli had referred to them as the “Feliciano Referee-drums”, which had earned a smirk and a laugh out of the German. Gilbert would find that hilarious. Feliciano had been trying his hardest to make Ludwig laugh over the phone. He was aware of everything going on in Germany, and any way he could help relieve some of Ludwig’s stress was enough for him. 

Ludwig came to a halt at the bottom of the wall, clearing his throat. He cupped his hands around his mouth, calling out for his brother. It normally took a minute or two for Gilbert to answer. Sometimes one of them would end up halfway down the wall, and half to go to where the other was. 

Five minutes passed, and Gilbert still hadn’t answered. Ludwig called out to him again.

Ten more minutes passed. Twenty. Thirty. Ludwig was starting to feel sick. He knew this day would come, but he had never actually expected...

Ludwig stepped closer to the wall, pressing both palms against it. 

When he yelled out his brothers name again, it came out as more of a desperate scream. He sunk to his knees in front of the wall, a terrified sob bubbling in his throat.

This couldn’t be happening. Gilbert was supposed to be here.

What was he supposed to do with himself now?

Ludwig remained curled up beside the wall for the rest of the night, and the following day. Every now and then he would let out a tired yell for his brother, in the hopes that he might answer.

The response he was waiting for never came.

 

June 12th, 1987. Ludwig had been told very firmly by his boss that he was to stand with him when the American President was to give his speech. Alfred had also been dragged along by his boss, having been told similar instructions. 

Alfred looked like shit. The war between him and Ivan was still going on, after all these years, and Alfred looked tired. 

He had a bandage wrapped around his head, his left arm was in a sling, and he had a black eye. He had a slight limp as well, and Ludwig noticed the way his hands never stopped shaking. Alfred was always on alert. War did that to a person.

They stood next to each other during Alfred’s bosses speech. Ludwig was in between his own boss and Alfred, and he was lucky enough that no one seemed to be looking at him directly. Though his spine was straight, hands clasped behind his back, and eyes focusing straight ahead, he felt like he could collapse at any moment. He hadn’t heard from Gilbert in five years, and Ludwig had assumed the worst. When the wall would collapse, Gilbert would not be there to greet him. He had accepted this, as hard as it had been.

He suddenly felt a gloved hand rest lightly on his back, and he turned his gaze to see that Alfred’s hand was the one resting on his back. He had never seen the American look so serious. Blue, dead eyes were still staring straight ahead, but Ludwig couldn’t tear his gaze away from the shorter man.

“Feliciano told us about Gilbert.”

Alfred must have noticed Ludwig tense, because he withdrew his hand, letting it drop back down by his side.

Neither one of them spoke for a moment, simply listening to the speech they were supposed to be paying attention to. 

“...for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable...”

Ludwig finally looked back out over the crowd. He and Alfred stood side by side, tense, and Alfred suddenly let out a sigh.

“I speak on behalf of all of the Allies when I say we’re sorry for your loss.” 

Ludwig hummed quietly, his expression remaining blank.

“I don’t want your pity.”

“This isn’t pity. If something were to happen to Mattie, I don’t know what-” Alfred had to pause, and Ludwig could have sworn that the American was choking up. “I don’t know what I’d do. We barely speak right now as it is, things are so tense between the two of us."

Ludwig swallowed the lump in his throat. Alfred kept going.

“I’m trying to keep him out of this war as much as possible, but he’s still on high alert. He’s trying to keep the peace, y’know? I mean hell, he knows what he’s doing, he helped me found NATO, but Ivan could easily target him, since he’s associated with me, and he’s my brother, and-”

“He won’t.” 

Alfred finally turned his head to look up at a stone faced Ludwig. 

“What?”

“Ivan won’t target Matthew. This is between you and him overall, and he knows this. His boss may want a massive nuclear war, but I know for a fact that Ivan does not. I’m sure he’d much rather shake your hand and call it quits. I’m sure you and the others would prefer to do the same as well.”

Alfred’s eyes were wide. He slowly looked back out over the crowd of people again, and the two fell into a comfortable silence. Ludwig knew that Alfred knew he was right.

Ludwig closed his eyes as he listened to the President. 

“...if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

 

Two more years passed, with no word from Gilbert. Ludwig had stopped visiting the wall altogether. All he was going to be met with was disappointment, and pain. He had given up. Gilbert was gone. 

It was November 9th, 1989, and Ludwig was sitting outside a restaurant he frequented more often than he’d like to admit, reading that morning’s newspaper. Every few minutes people would rush passed him in the direction of the wall, but Ludwig paid them no attention. There was no point to it. 

It wasn’t until a teenager carrying a sledgehammer stopped in front of him, a wide smile on his face, that Ludwig glanced up from his paper.

“Aren’t you coming, mister?”

Ludwig folded his paper and set it down beside him, raising an eyebrow up at the boy.

“What are you talking about?”

The boy laughed, swinging his sledgehammer over his shoulder.

“We got the go ahead to tear down the wall!”

Everything around Ludwig in that moment seemed to freeze. They were tearing down the wall? It had been 28 long years. Seven of those years Ludwig had spent without Gilbert. 

It was really coming down?

The boy’s laughter was the one thing that snapped him out of his trance. This kid couldn’t be more than twenty. He had never experienced life without the wall. Suddenly, the boy was extending his sledgehammer out towards Ludwig.

“Take it. You look like you should get a couple of good hits in! I’ll borrow another one.”

With trembling hands, Ludwig took the sledgehammer. It was heavy in his hands, but Ludwig felt like he could lift up a car with all the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

“ _Danke, Danke_!”

The German took off in a sprint towards the wall, having to push through the crowd of people that had already formed. People were already chipping away at the wall, some with shovels, some with hammers. Ludwig pushed his way through until he was at the front of the line, swinging the sledgehammer up and bringing it down against the concrete as hard as he could possibly manage. Those around him cheered as a chunk of the cement was shoved away, and Ludwig could feel his face flushing.

He had waited 28 years for this moment. He and Gilbert wouldn’t reunite, sure, but this was for him. Each swing, a little harder than the last, was for him.

Before he knew it, he had created a chunk big enough for people to flood in through. People around him were cheering and crying, running to reunite with their loved ones, and it was making Ludwig’s chest hurt. 

Turning to his left, he saw a man, not much older than 40, scanning the crowd eagerly. He had his hands cupped around his mouth, and it took Ludwig a moment to tune into what he was shouting. 

“ _Bruder, folge meiner Stimme_!” 

_Brother, follow my voice_. The moment another man, a younger man, burst through the crowd and engulfed the taller brother into a hug, Ludwig forced himself to look away. He let the sledgehammer fall out of his grip, and he forced himself to back away from the wall. He made it to the back of the crowd, turning away from it. This was supposed to be a happy day. While the wall was broken, no longer an issue, it also felt like Ludwig was being stabbed in the stomach. He had waited for this day for so long, and now he was dreading it. He rubbed his hands together, sighing. Maybe a nearby bar would be open, he needed a drink, maybe two.

It was a faint, distant yell that broke him out of his train of thought. He furrowed his brow. He must be imagining things. It sounded like someone was calling out his name, but that couldn’t be the case...right?

He slowly turned around, and he felt his heart skip a beat at what he saw.

Gilbert had climbed atop the wall, the barbed wire having been stripped from it. He had his hands cupped around his mouth, anxious eyes scanning the crowd. 

“Ludwig!”

Ludwig’s breath caught in his throat, and he was suddenly desperately trying to push his way back through the crowd in order to reach his brother.

“Gilbert? Gilbert!”

He seemed to have caught Gilbert’s attention, because purple eyes quickly locked with blue ones. The smile that crossed Gilbert’s face was enough to give Ludwig the extra bit of energy he needed, because he was at the bottom of the wall again before he could even count to thirty. 

As Gilbert jumped down from the top of the wall Ludwig caught him, and for a moment, the pair just stared at each other in awe. Ludwig had finally had enough, and pulled his big brother into a tight hug. He had to lean down in order to hide his face in the soft fabric of Gilbert’s jacket, but it was worth it. Gilbert’s arms wrapped around Ludwig’s torso, clinging to his brother like his life depended on it.

The others around them seemed to be giving them space, no one coming near in order to give the two some privacy. Ludwig couldn’t help it. After the first tear fell, the rest came full force. He dug his fingers into Gilbert’s jacket, his entire body shaking with each harsh sob. Gilbert was sobbing right along with him. Both men clung to the other, but Gilbert was the first one to pull away. Gloved hands pressed themselves against Ludwig’s cheeks, and neither brother could hide the smile. 

“I-I thought you were dead.”

Gilbert let out a bark of a laugh, shaking his head quickly. He leaned his forehead against Ludwig’s, closing his eyes.

In that moment, it didn’t matter that the Cold War wouldn’t end for three more years. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t seen each other in 28 years. The Wall didn’t matter.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, bruder. I tried to escape to come see you, and I got caught. I wasn't allowed within a certain distance of the wall, or I really wouldn't be here right now."

“I win.”

Gilbert opened his eyes to see Ludwig was watching him closely, almost looking like he was scared if he took his eyes off of him, he’d disappear again. 

“What do you mean you win?” 

Ludwig pulled Gilbert in for another tight hug, which Gilbert gladly returned.

“You laughed first. I win.” 

Gilbert couldn’t help but smile widely, rolling his eyes. He put a hand on the back of Ludwig’s head, pulling his little brother closer.


End file.
